From Downton with Love
by LostatDownton
Summary: John Bates, agent of the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) is sent to protect Lord Robert Crawley, by going undercover in the Earl's company, the Downton Bureau of Investigation (DBI). While there, he meets the forensic scientist, Anna Smith. He falls in love with her, while trying to prevent the assassination. Inspired by a post on Tumblr. Modern AU


An explosion sounded in the dark night, and a few seconds later, a man slipped like a shadow through the darkness. He slipped around a corner, and found himself down a alley. A man walked up behind him, and growled. "Barrow. I should have known." The man in black whipped around to find an older, grizzled man.

"You!" He gasped.

"Yes me. Surprised?" He pulled out a gun. "Revenge is sweet, Thomas."

He pulled the trigger, the man known as Barrow dropping to the ground. And then the older man walked away, stowing the gun in his jacket, and as he walked away, he pulled out a walkie-talkie, and said.

"V, this is Bates. Barrow has been taken care of."

"Good. Come to my office tomorrow at nine."

"Yes ma'am."

"And Bates?"

"Yes?"

"Don't be late."

He put away the radio and got into his car, driving away.

His alarm went off the next morning, waking him from a fitful slumber. He didn't want to be late to his meeting with V. He got up, turning on the shower, and made coffee. When he stepped out of the shower, he noticed it was nearly eight-thirty. He got dressed, and sat down to breakfast. Next he looked up, it was a quarter to. He'd be lucky if he was on time.

When he arrive at the office, V was waiting. "Bates. You've taken care of Barrow, but there's a meeting today in which you must be present. E and C are attending."

"Hughes and Carson?" Asked Bates, surprised. "What do they want?"

"They want to offer you an assignment. Follow me, Bates." The older woman led him down the hall and into a meeting room.

The two people inside, an man with grey hair and dark eyes, and an older woman with dark hair, and a kindly face. C. Carson and E. Hughes.

E shook his hand first, and said. "We've got an assignment for you. A gang of criminals, planning to assassinate Lord R Crawley, named..."

C took over. "Named Julian, Edna, O'Brien, Vera, Grigg and Kemal."

"Why Lord R though?"

"We're not sure."

"Does he live alone?"

"No, he owns a large estate which is headquarters for the...Downton Bureau of Investigation, sir. He's a Lord, but he's also director of the DBI in his town."

"And where does he live?"

"A village north of London, in Yorkshire... Called Downton."

"That's my assignment?"

"Yes." Confirmed C. "And good luck with it."

"When do I leave? And do you have files on everyone there?"

"Tonight, and yes. The assassins have infiltrated the house as staff. We believe that there is one member of staff that could help you find out what these assassins intend to do."

E handed over the files, and said "J will show you the equipment you'll be using. And also, you've been hired to work in the forensics lab."

"Hmmm." Bates pondered.

C allowed himself a small smile. "Not squeamish are you Bates?"

"No sir. I'll leave as soon as possible."

J led him down the hallway, and into the equipment room.

"Ah!" Called out I, rushing over. She was a kindly woman. "I have some things to show you."

She handed him a watch, warning. "Careful, if you set it right you could cause a major explosion."

Then she handed him a gun, with different types of bullets including exploding ones and poison-tipped. Once his equipment had been handed over, he went home to pack.

Soon, he was sitting on the train, going through the files he'd been given. Nothing showed anything interesting, except there was one thing he'd noticed. Every person on staff had something in their past, some sort of personal flaw. All but one. A woman in the forensic lab he was working in. Whom he would be working with for the foreseeable future.

Early the next morning, the elegant estate came into view, the landscape ruined by the squat buildings covering the lawn. Using the map he'd been given, he made his way to the main building, where everything was. Quarters for the staff, and family, a cafeteria, and many other things. Jail cells were downstairs, and the kitchens were attached to the cafeteria. He knocked on the door, but no one answered. He walked in, waiting at the base of the grand staircase. He waited, until an older woman- who he knew to be O'Brien, was followed by two younger women, one a redhead the other blonde, both clutching clipboards. O'Brien's eyes widened when she saw him, and he spoke up.

"I was waiting at the door. I knocked, but no one came."

"So you pushed in?" She asked rudely.

"I'm here to work in the forensic lab." He said, offering a smile. "I'm Bates." He said. "John Bates."

The young blonde woman took pity on him. "I'm Anna Smith, head forensic scientist."

He shook hands with her, and turned to O'Brien, who said. "And I'm O'Brien, head secretary. You better come with us."

He followed them down the hallway, Dr. Smith offering him a warm smile.

O'Brien and the scientists led him down the hall, into a large meeting room. "Director Crawley? I've got the new scientist here."

"Ah." The man turned around, a kind face framed with greying hair. "Good. It's Bates, isn't it?"

"Yes sir." Bates said, smiling.

"Good. I'll call in the teams one by one, so you can meet everyone. First, you obviously know Anna Smith, she's head of Forensics, and we'd all be lost without her!" the Director said with a chuckle. He then pointed to the other young woman. "And this is Ms. Smith's assistant. Bates, this is Gwen Dawson."

Bates shook her hand, and smiled. "It's a pleasure. Anyone else I should meet from the Forensic team?"

"Yes." The Director pressed a button on the desk, and shortly after, two other people came in, who Bates could identify as two of the assassins. "Bates, this is Kemal Pamuk, our transfer from Turkey, and Edna Braithwaite. They work as assistants in the lab."

"It's a pleasure." He said, nodding to them, wondering why they would want to assassinate this kindly man. The forensics team left, Ms. Smith offering one last smile.

Next, a group of people walked in, two young men, and a young woman. "Ah." Director Crawley said, smiling at the group. "Bates, this is Detective William Mason, Detective Tom Branson, my future son-in-law, and Detective Daisy Robinson. Detectives, this is John Bates, he'll be working in the forensics lab, with Anna, Gwen, Kemal and Edna."

"It's a pleasure." Said the man, Tom, with a smile. He was clearly Irish.

"Nice to meet you, sir." Said the other man, a gentle-seeming man, known as William.

"It's nice to meet you." Said Detective Daisy. "But we must be getting back." She and the other detectives left the room.

Three more men walked in, and one woman. The Director introduced them as the Officers, their men who did civilian duty. Officers Lavinia Swire, Charles Grigg, Richard Carlisle, and Robert's son-in-law and distant cousin, Matthew Crawley.

"It's a pleasure." They said, but Grigg and Carlisle were both shooting wary looks at Bates. They didn't seem to trust him. But Matthew and Lavinia seemed nice enough. They were dismissed, and next a handful of men wearing business suits, walked in.

"These are lawyers for when we go to court for trials and cases. Gentlemen, this is John Bates, new man to the forensics lab. Bates, these are George Murray, and our pair of lawyers that my friends have named the Anthonys. This is Anthony Foyle, formally Lord Gillingham." He said, pointing to a young man with dark hair. "And this is my son-in-law, Anthony Strallan." He indicated the older man, who had sharp blue eyes and grey hair. The men shook hands with Bates, and left, leaving him alone with the director.

Another two young men walked in, claiming they were special interrogators, named Evelyn Napier and Charles Blake. After introductions were made, Robert sent them away, saying. "We have Chef Patmore and her assistant chefs, Ivy Stuart, Alfred Nugent and Jimmy Kent, working in the kitchens, and we have secretaries for all of my daughters, who each head a department, you'll meet them presently. I believe the secretaries are named Rose, Jane and Ethel. But my daughters are more important!" He said, with a laugh.

"All three are married, sir?" asked John reluctantly.

"My two older daughters, Mary and Edith are married, but my youngest, Sybil is engaged. Mary has a four-year-old son named George, and Edith is expecting her first baby any day now."

"Are there any other staff, sir?"

"Yes, Bates, we've got a janitor, Julian Fellows."

"Interesting." He commented.

After everyone was gone, Robert had his personal secretary, Jane, bring in a few cups of coffee, and motioned for Bates to sit down.

"As director of the DBI, I'm pleased to welcome you to the team, Bates. You'll meet my daughters next."

A young woman walked in, with dark brown hair, and brown eyes. She had a bit of a cold, calculating look about her. "Hello, Mr. Bates, I'm Mary Crawley, head of the civilian officers department."

He shook hands with her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Crawley."

"Yes, of course." She said, offering a smile, before leaving.

Next, a young woman with fair hair, and brown eyes walked in, a large belly dominating the view of her. "Hello, I'm Edith Strallan, head of the detective department."

"Expecting a baby?" asked Bates, interested.

"Yes, I'm about to pop!" She said with a laugh. "Any day now. I hope you'll be with us for awhile, it's a good team."

She left, and a few minutes later, the youngest walked in. "Hello Mr. Bates, I'm Sybil Crawley, head of the interrogation unit. It's wonderful to meet you at last."

"Thank you, Ms. Crawley." He said, shaking her hand.

Once everyone was gone, Robert smiled at him. "As I said before, welcome to the team."

He held out his hand and Bates shook it.


End file.
